Call for Nominations: Mountain Future Award 2024

From food insecurity, climate change and biodiversity loss, to lack of access to services, gender inequalities, poverty and outmigration, the world’s mountain regions today face major global challenges. Yet they are also in a moment of opportunities. A new generation of youth is gearing towards innovative solutions and new strategies to increase the resilience of mountain communities and conserve mountain environments.

Focus Areas

• Project submissions should emphasize the following areas:
  • Innovation: Innovation should be a key aspect of the project proposal. This could encompass technological (including digital), social, policy, financial, and/or institutional innovations that address complex social, economic and environmental challenges in mountains.
  • Adaptation: Project proposals should promote climate adaptation. This could include adaptation strategies tailored to mountain ecosystems and communities, resilient agri-food systems, climate smart agriculture, ecosystem-based approaches to natural resource management, the integration of Indigenous knowledge systems or traditional techniques, and the promotion of circular economy.
  • Youth: The active, meaningful participation of youth in decision-making is essential for ensuring the long-term sustainability of mountain solutions. Project proposals should emphasize youth leadership, such as being youth-led and/or youth-focused, promoting universal and accessible training for young persons in mountains, and empowering young people to be agents of change through digital technology, research and entrepreneurship opportunities that contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of mountain resources.

Prize Information

• Along with international recognition, the three awardees will each receive seed funding of USD5000, the winning proposals will also receive project incubation assistance from the FAO Mountain Partnership Secretariat.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants may be individuals or institutions.
• Applicants must be the original creators of the original project proposal they submit.
• Eligible proposals can include those for new projects and projects in the initial planning stages. Projects that are already being implemented are not eligible for the Award.

Selection Criteria

• Project proposals will be assessed by an expert jury on the following criteria:
  • Impact on mountain communities through promoting climate adaptation, conserving mountain biodiversity and ecosystems and/or enhancing food security and/or reducing disaster risk.
  • Innovative aspects of the project, level of innovation, including technological (including digital), social, policy, financial, and/or institutional innovation, application and feasibility of the innovative aspects.
  • Involvement of youth to contribute to a sustainable future in mountain areas.
• The awardees will be selected by an expert jury. The awardees will be notified of their selection via email and invited to the International Mountain Day event in December 2024 where the award ceremony will take place.

Judging Criteria

• Submissions will be judged by a panel of mountain experts from FAO and the Mountain Partnership. The Mountain Future Award will be presented to the three best project proposals during the official International Mountain Day event.

Application Requirements 

• Applicants acknowledge and agree that they:
  • will comply with all applicable laws, including, without limitation, privacy laws, intellectual property laws, anti-spam laws;
  • cannot create a false identity, or misrepresent their identity, affiliation with a person or entity, past or present, or their current or previous positions and qualifications;
  • are responsible for ensuring the accuracy, integrity and security of the information that they provide when accessing the Application Form, including any personal data;
  • Unless otherwise indicated, applicants acknowledge and agree that the material submitted through the Application Form may be reused and redistributed by others for non-commercial purposes, in line with the objectives of the Mountain Future Award, without requesting prior written permission. Where specific authorization to reuse and redistribute material is required, applicants must obtain the necessary permission from the respective rights holder(s).
  • By registering and submitting the entries, applicants agree with the above Personal Data and Privacy Notice and that FAO may in accordance with the choices made by them about who can see their content or information, when applicable – reproduce, distribute, display and create derivate works, without any further consent, notice and/or compensation to them or others, of the data provided in the nomination form, including personal data, in connection with the purpose of the Mountain Future Award and the promotion of FAO’s work.

For more information, visit FAO.